Intel Revving Supply Chain for Mobile Chips: Report

Intel COO Brian Krzanich told Reuters that the chip maker’s fabs are ready for the expected high demand for mobile processors.

Intel reportedly is gearing up its supply chain to handle the
expected onslaught of demand for mobile chips that will power such devices as
smartphones and tablets.
The chip giants new COO, Brian Krzanich, said in a Reuters
story March 13 that he has been focused on reducing the amount of time it takes
for Intels various manufacturing facilities to churn out the Atom and Core
processors that will be used in the increasingly popular mobile devices.

"We will start to see more and more of our capacity and
our output go to things that are mobile, like phones and tablets and other
devices," Krzanich told Reuters.

Intel is gearing
up for its latestand most aggressivepush into the booming mobile computing
space. Most of the devices currently are run on very low-power chips designed
by ARM Holdings and manufactured by the likes of Qualcomm, Texas Instruments,
Samsung Electronics and Nvidia.
However, Intel for more than a year has been setting the
stage to make a run at the smartphone and tablet markets, which analysts have
said will only continue to grow. The vendor has rolled out new Atom and Core
chips officials say offer the kinds of high performance and energy efficiency
needed for mobile devices. That includes its 1.6GHz
Atom Z2460 Medfield chips, which will power smartphones from Motorola
Mobility, Lenovo, Orange and ZTE that are expected to hit the market later this
year.
During an event at the Consumer Electronics Show in January
where Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini took the stage with Motorola
Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha, Otellini said the partnership
will be a significant factor for the chip maker as it moves in ARMs territory.
"We expect the combination of our companies to break new
ground and bring the very best of computing capabilities to smartphones and
tablets," Otellini said.
In addition, Intel, which late last year created a business
unit focused on mobile computing, also is planning for the rollout of its
22-nanometer Ivy Bridge chips, which will feature the companys power-saving
Tri-Gate transistor architecture that officials say will drive design wins in
tablets and Ultrabooks, a category of extremely thin and light notebooks that
are designed to offer a full PC experience as well as capabilities normally
found in tablets.
Intel also has partnered with Google to optimize its Android
mobile operating system for Atom chips, and officials see the upcoming release
of Microsofts Windows 8 OSwhich is aimed not only at PCs but also tabletsas
another boon for the chip maker in its efforts to grow the number of device
design wins.
Krzanich said that reducing the time it takes for fabs to
produce chips will only increase Intels advantage in manufacturing.
However, ARM officials are not impressed with Intels mobile
computing efforts. Also at CES, ARM
CEO Warren East said Intel has a long way to go to match the low-power
capabilities of ARM-designed chips.
"It's inevitable Intel will get a few smartphone design
wins, East said in an interview with Reuters. "We regard Intel as a
serious competitor. Are they ever going to be the leaders in power efficiency?
No, of course not. But they have a lot more to offer."
The flip side of Microsofts Windows 8 OS is that is also
will run on devices powered by ARM-designed chips. At the Mobile World Congress
show last month, Qualcomm
announced that its Snapdragon processor will be part of the software giants
Windows on ARM developer seeding program for PCs and tablets.